# Natural Red Oak in a traditional room

Natural Red Oak, from the Mullican Oak Pointe 2.0™ 3" Red Oak line, is mid tone red oak hardwood with a golden undertone (measured from its own picture: LRV 38). Here it is with Alabaster walls, Greek Villa trim, and Van Deusen Blue as the deep note, chosen by the numbers.

A vision board by Powell Flooring, 1811 Union Valley Rd, West Milford, NJ 07480, 973-728-9717. AI assisted: the rooms are AI generated, simulated photos; the floor, the paint colors and every number are real.
Page: https://www.powellflooring.com/vision-boards/natural-red-oak-traditional

## The floor
- Natural Red Oak, Mullican Oak Pointe 2.0™ 3" Red Oak: Solid red oak hardwood · Red oak · 3 in (SKU 25283)
- Price: $4.75 per sq ft · $114.00 a carton. Material only. Delivery and installation extra.
- Every color and detail: https://www.powellflooring.com/floors/mullican/oak-pointe-2-0-3-red-oak/natural

## Measured from its own picture
- LRV (light reflectance value, 0 black to 100 white): 38
- CIELAB (D65): L* 67.7, a* 11.8, b* 39.6, chroma 41.4, hue 73.4 degrees
- Undertone: a golden undertone, warm without leaning red
- Natural Red Oak has a gentle movement from board to board (a spread of 2.6 in L*): calm, but not flat.

## Paint
- Walls: Alabaster (Sherwin-Williams SW 7008, LRV 82.2, +44.6 from the floor). A soft neutral with a touch of warmth (hue 98°), so Natural Red Oak stays golden without turning yellow. Source: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/white-paint-colors/sw7008-alabaster/
- Or walls: Pale Oak (Benjamin Moore OC-20, LRV 68.6, +31 from the floor). A soft neutral with a touch of warmth (hue 95°), so Natural Red Oak stays golden without turning yellow. Source: https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/oc-20/pale-oak
- Trim and ceilings: Greek Villa (Sherwin-Williams SW 7551, LRV 84.2). 47 points over Natural Red Oak in LRV and warm enough (chroma 5.3) to read white, not blue, beside its golden undertone. Source: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/en-us/color/color-family/white-paint-colors/sw7551-greek-villa/
- Deep note: Van Deusen Blue (Benjamin Moore HC-156, LRV 12). Deep and cool, about 173° around the color wheel from Natural Red Oak and 26 points darker in LRV, so each makes the other look richer. Source: https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/hc-156/van-deusen-blue
- Lower cabinets or an island in Van Deusen Blue, uppers and trim in Greek Villa. The floor at LRV 38 sits between the two (12 and 84).

## Wood, rugs and metals
- Wood a step darker: a warm gray brown wood, like our Warm Gray stain sample. About 20 points darker than Natural Red Oak in L* (48 against 68), far enough to read as a choice.
- Wood a step lighter: black or painted pieces. Natural Red Oak is lighter than any wood stain we photographed (L* 68), so contrast comes from black, painted or upholstered pieces.
- Rug or fabric, tone on tone: walnut brown (#614c33). 19 in chroma, half the warmth of Natural Red Oak (41), and 34 points darker in L*.
- Rug or fabric, across the wheel: storm blue (#596977). Hue 253°, straight across the color wheel from the 73° of Natural Red Oak, softened to balance it.
- Rug or fabric, grounding: mocha (#675643). A deep note at L* 38, 30 points from the 68 of Natural Red Oak, so a rug keeps its edge.
- Metal: unlacquered brass. A warm metal that agrees with the golden undertone of Natural Red Oak (hue 73°).
- Metal: aged brass. A second warm metal in a worn finish, so the brass beside Alabaster walls never looks new and loud.
- Metal: matte black. Black works with every undertone; beside Natural Red Oak at LRV 38 it gives the room its outline.

## Room by room
- Living room: Alabaster walls, Greek Villa trim and crown, a patterned rug in storm blue and mocha on Natural Red Oak, furniture in a warm gray brown wood, unlacquered brass lamps.
- Kitchen: Van Deusen Blue on the island, Greek Villa cabinets, aged brass knobs, Natural Red Oak underfoot.
- Dining room: Pale Oak walls, a table in a warm gray brown wood, chairs in walnut brown, an unlacquered brass chandelier.
- Bedroom: Alabaster walls, walnut brown bedding, a storm blue throw, black or painted nightstands.

## What to avoid
- Walls at the lightness of Natural Red Oak: Jockey Hollow Gray (Benjamin Moore HC-108, LRV 39.5) sits 2 points from its LRV of 38, so wall and floor would blur into one.
- Wood that almost matches Natural Red Oak: a tone like our Natural sample, 5.7 apart (CIEDE2000), reads as a near miss. Go clearly darker or lighter.
- Walls that lean yellow: yellow on yellow flattens the golden undertone of Natural Red Oak (hue 73°).

## The room it suits
- At LRV 38, Natural Red Oak is a mid tone: it holds its color in a sunny room and hides everyday dust and pet hair better than a very dark or very light floor.
- At 3 inches a board, Natural Red Oak lays about 48 boards across a 12 foot room, the busy, tailored look of a classic strip floor.
- Solid hardwood: living spaces and bedrooms above grade, kept out of baths and basements.
- Hardness: Northern red oak: Janka 1,290 lbf (the force to press a steel ball halfway into the wood; a higher number dents less under heels and chair legs)
- Construction: Solid red oak hardwood (one piece of wood top to bottom, sanded and refinished for decades)
- Finish: Aluminum Oxide Finish

## Sources
- Paint names, codes, hex and LRV as Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore publish them (each color links to its page).
- BS 8300-2:2018 asks for a difference of at least 30 LRV points between adjacent surfaces, such as a floor and a wall, so the surfaces read apart.
- The floor measured from its own picture in CIELAB (D65); the wood tones from our own photographs of 37 stains on oak.
- Janka hardness from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory Wood Handbook (2021), Table 5-3b, at 12 percent moisture.